Trumaine Johnson scouting report for 49ers, Raiders

By Cam Inman, Bay Area News Group

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Cornerback Trumaine Johnson is poised for a Northern California homecoming. Both the 49ers and Raiders figure to court him in free agency and try luring him from the NFC West-champion Los Angeles Rams.

Negotiations and visits officially can start Monday. A deal can be finalized as early as Wednesday. If a bidding war ensues, here is a look at what Johnson offers:

Hometown: Born Jan. 1, 1990 in Stockton. After fighting with Chargers receiver Dontrelle Inman in a 2017 scrimmage, Johnson said: “I’m from Stockton, man. Stockton came out of me. It really did. I’m not going to take mess from nobody. I don’t care who it is."

Awards: No Pro Bowl or All-Pro honors. Second alternate for last season’s Pro Bowl. Won NFC Defensive Player of Week award after last season’s opening win (interception return for touchdown, recovered fumble he forced).

Penalties: Matched career-high with nine last season (five declined), including three for illegal use of hands and two for pass interference. Has drawn 29 penalties in six seasons, with an unnecessary roughness call four of the past five seasons.

Team captain: Rams teammates elected him a captain last season for the first time in his career.

Johnson’s plan: “I’d love to be around (the 2018 Rams). But again, I understand the business side of it, so we’ll see.” — Johnson told the Orange County Register on Dec. 29.

Rams’ plan: “We want Trumaine back. We want to try to see if that can work. We do have a lot of respect and appreciation for probably the market that he’ll have. And I think that’s where as you get a little closer to free agency, you see what does that market look like? That will then determine if we’re able to get him back and see him continue to play for us." — Rams coach Sean McVay at last week’s scouting combine, via TheRams.com.

Insider’s Take: Kirk Morrison, a Rams radio analyst and a former Raiders linebacker, appeared Monday on 95.7 The Game with host Greg Papa and described Johnson’s skillset: “He’s a press-man (corner) and he wants to play press-man. A lot of people are just starting to see how good of a corner he is. The Rams knew it. … Trumaine Johnson has played outstanding the last two seasons. He has a good mix of the man-coverage skills but he’s also a guy, he’ll match your No. 1 guy but he’ll also knock the ball out. It’s not necessarily getting interceptions. If you catch it, he can put a hit on you. He’s created many forced fumbles. I look at him more as just a ballhawk. He’s going to get paid a ton of money. The Rams still want him but they know at the price he’s going to garner on the free agent market, they won’t be able to pay that.”